Dive Brief:
- Land O'Lakes is selling the majority of the California operations of its Moark egg subsidiary to the Southern California Egg Cooperative. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- The majority of Moark's operations are in that state, but the unit also operates in Missouri, Connecticut, and Maine.
- Prior to the sale, Land O'Lakes was the nation's third-largest producer of eggs.
Dive Insight:
The egg business is in flux, and Land O'Lakes has been pretty clear that it has a limited appetite for flux. Of particular concern are the expanding regulations regarding living conditions for hens in California.
Land O'Lakes has said it wants to exit the egg game in the West and Midwest, and is reorganizing many parts of its business. But the cooperative has been a bit cagey about its plans for New England. The announcement of the sale of operations in California gives no indication of what Land O'Lakes intends for the rest of its egg business.
